Huntsville gazette., 1887-12-24

all the world like a red squirrels; lit
tie mouth, jest as red as checker berries
be in the spring, and bgoWn hair curlin'
all over her head
''Twas quite spell before she got
wontedi and all that winter we never
knowed how she got there, for that
snow KEEP on and the wind bloWed like
mad, and it drifted over the road full ten
foot deep; We had to kill all but two pair
| of our fowls before we could get through
| to Littleton, for we ct up the hui
barrel O beef; and we had traded
| off pair Of critters for our
winters supply OF salt pork, and was
expectin' to drive 'em up there the very
day the snow sot in, and fetch the pork
back. Twas kind of tight squeeze
| Well, there wasn't any use tfyin' to
| find out where that baby come from: all
she'd ever say was: Me Paw-een,'
so we reckoned her name was Pauliny,
| and father he said he'd call her
Pauliny Snowed-down, seem she hadn't
| got no other name; so it came about that
it kind Of toned down into Snowdea
when she growed up.
Mother she always called her hy q
kind of Dynamo, Present; for she said
the child was her New Years present,
| seein' she found her in the kitchen lust
after New Years sot in
II said we didn't never know thing
about her, and so we didn't, only what
was guess-work. Next spring when the
snow was nigh about gone and the road
was IN manner passable, a team-'tvas
the first one that got through-comin'
| in from below, found a sleigh about forty
rod beyond our house with stun-Gead
| horse in the thills, and dead woman
| sittin' on the seat, friz to death for
| certain. She hadn't nothin' over her
but old camlet cloak with red plaid
linin', and about ten rod nearer to our
| clearin' they see some thing stickin' up
| out of most monsterious big drift, and
| 10 you'll twas whip and kind of clearin'
off the drift which was good and solid,
| it had thew and friz 80 often, they come
to q coon-skin cap, and then to man
"We'd figured it out that she'd made
him wrap her shawl round the child and
try for shelter, and when he done SO,
and was a goin to fetch her, brob'ly lost
his way m got into that there drift and
died there. But there wasn't no airthly
thing to tell where they come from or
where they was goin'; there wasn't
nothing but bag O. clo'es. which come
real handy for Pauliny. But twas
kinder pitiful to think how they tried to
save that little cretur an died ad0in' it.
AS | was sayin' she was smart and
clever and pretty lookin, and growed up
as likely gal as there was any where;
and by time she was seventeen and
was twenty-four l thought the sun rose
and set in her face. used to get tearin'
mad when I see them fellers that driv
the lumber teams a gettin' out to have
drink out of our wei; the was good
springs all along, but nothin' could suit
'em but our well, and they wanted
Pauliny to fetch the dipper every tune
Snow, she was just as innocent as
cricket, and never mistrusted how
twas; but could see in the shake Of a
lambs tail what they was thinkin Of
She was harnsome, no mistake, as
straight as a tuliptree, and as high-step-
PIN as a deer; she'd got them same,
sweet, bright eyes an red lips, and the
hair wasn't in curlS no more, but had
growed down to her knees, and was a
wavin' and shinin' like strip of 'Sogee
Pond, and when she larfed, them rosy
cheeks Of hers had the cutest little
darlin' holes in 'em you ever see: and
her eyes was just a dancin' too. She
was real spry about the house and just
as handy She'd fix up squirrel pot
pie to kill, and her slapiacks was sur
prism. never see such hand to cook
vittefs before nor since; seemed to come
material to her.
II KEEP thinkin' how I could manage
so as to have cabin of my own and
take her along; for was cussed fool in
them days, and hadn't no idee but what
women-folks would marry anybody It
asked 'em; but just as had made up my
mind good to 60 off a lumberin' spell,
and then take some land up on the
mounting side where there was kind
of fiat place so as you could set q
house there; suddenly it came into my
head that Sam was shinin' round Paul
my quite little. Wei, KEEP my eyes
peeled, and l see how he'd fetch her in
little baskets of birch bark full of the
biggest checker-berries; md them
punches Of posies out q the woods; and
thimble-berries, and fox grapes; how
that he would snare birds for her, and
ketch trout before sun-up, and haul in
long strings O. trailin pine. Why, 1
hadn't so much as thought of them little
notions, | was SO sot on her, and so
sot on myself
"Wen, I see I couldn't cut in that
way I wasn't 80 good-lookin' as Sam,
but 1 was considerable stronger, so 1
done other things; fetched in wood
when she had her turn to do the bal1in'
/ shook the hickory trees to get her
nuts; and fetched back bag Of apples
acrost my shoulders from Littleton to